---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who can do anything after Beethoven?"
description: "\"Who can do anything after Beethoven?\" — Franz Schubert"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/franz-schubert-15747_beethoven_who-can-do-anything-after-beethoven-1270_1270233.png"
---

#  Who can do anything after Beethoven?

![“Who can do anything after Beethoven?” quote by Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/franz-schubert-15747_beethoven_who-can-do-anything-after-beethoven-1270_1270233.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/franz-schubert-15747_beethoven_who-can-do-anything-after-beethoven-1270_1270233.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/franz-schubert-15747_beethoven_who-can-do-anything-after-beethoven-1270_1270233.png)

> “Who can do anything after Beethoven?”

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

No one can surpass Beethoven’s influence; greatness sets a high bar.

**In simple terms:** Beethoven is unsurpassed.

Key Takeaway

Accept limits and find your own voice.

Themes

art legacy humility creativity

Mood

thoughtful inspired

Type

musical philosophical

When to use this quote

- musical composition
- performance anxiety
- career planning

Key Concepts

music history inspiration

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you define your own greatness?
- Can you innovate beyond past masters?

A Different Perspective

Greatness is subjective; new art can emerge.

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## Related quotes

> [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/)

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> [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/)

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> [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/)

[Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/)

> [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/)

[Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/)

> [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/)

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> [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/)

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[Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/)

> [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/)

[Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/)

> [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/)

Maynard Solomon

> [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/)

[Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/)

> [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/)

[Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/)

> [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/)

[Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/)

## More by Franz Schubert

> [Nobody understands another's sorrow, and nobody another's joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/nobody-understands-another-s-sorrow-and-nobody-another-s-joy/)

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> [The manager is to be blamed who distributes parts to his players which they are unable to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/the-manager-is-to-be-blamed-who-distributes-parts-to-his-players/)

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

> [O Mozart, immortal Mozart, how many, how infinitely many inspiring suggestions of a finer, better life you have left in our souls!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/o-mozart-immortal-mozart-how-many-how-infinitely-many-inspiring/)

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

> [Our castle is not imposing, but is well built, and surrounded by a very fine garden. I live in the bailiff's house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/our-castle-is-not-imposing-but-is-well-built-and-surrounded-by-a-very/)

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

> [Why does God endow us with compassion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/why-does-god-endow-us-with-compassion/)

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

> [Why should the composer be more guilty than the poet who warms to fantasy by a strange flame, making an idea that inspires him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/why-should-the-composer-be-more-guilty-than-the-poet-who-warms-to/)

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> [No one really understands the grief or joy of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/no-one-really-understands-the-grief-or-joy-of-another/)

[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

> [When I wished to sing of love, it turned to sorrow. And when I wished to sing of sorrow, it was transformed for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-schubert/when-i-wished-to-sing-of-love-it-turned-to-sorrow-and-when-i-wished/)

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[Franz Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

[Explore all 42 Franz Schubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-schubert/)

## More Beethoven quotes

> [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/)

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> [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/)

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[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/)

[Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/)

> [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/)

[Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/)

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[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/)

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[Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/)

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[Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/)

Browse all 240 Beethoven quotes

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